South Korea’s largest low-cost carrier, Jeju Air, has launched a new direct route between Daegu and central Da Nang city, with the first flight to take off on December 22.

The new route is part of Jeju Air’s strategy to make it easier for South Koreans to travel to Vietnam, as demand has increased remarkably in recent years, according to Mr. Seong-Jin Yang, Managing Director and Head of Public Relations at Jeju Air. Da Nang is also a popular destination among South Koreans.

The new service will feature seven flights per week, with a travel time of four hours and 30 minutes.

The number of Jeju Air’s routes to Vietnam is just behind its largest markets - Japan and China. The carrier has increased its number of seats from 150,000 in 2015 to 450,000 in 2017. As of October, it has 720,000 seats.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, around 2.4 million South Koreans visited Vietnam last year, up 56 per cent against 2016. Vietnam welcomed 2.86 million South Koreans in the first ten months of this year, up 48 per cent year-on-year.

Da Nang welcomed 1.3 million South Korean visitors in 2017 and 800,000 in the first half of 2018, up nearly 100 per cent against 2016 and 101 per cent year-on-year, respectively, according to the latest figures from the city’s Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports. South Korean tourists account for around half of total tourists to the city.